A story that follows Emperor Renzong of Song as he struggles between maintaining his ideologies of governing the country and his love for his daughter. Emperor Renzong of Song, personal name Zhao Zhen (Wang Kai), discovers that Empress Dowager Liu E is not his birth mother and that his real mother is Li Lanhui, a maidservant of the Empress Dowager. Wracked with guilt, he thought to repay the Li family by marrying off his most precious daughter Princess Weirou (Ren Min) to the Li's descendant Li Wei. Within the royal court, the emperor takes great pains to keep the balance between tradition and reform. However, he is also troubled by the affairs of his daughter. Weirou has formed deep feelings for Huaiji (Bian Cheng), a eunuch who grew up alongside her. Unwilling to accept the dull and simple minded Li Wei, she gets into a conflict with her in-laws and breaks the strictest rules enforced by the empire, thus forcing the Emperor to face a difficult dilemma.